1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device with a hidden keyboard and, more particularly to a portable electronic device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), the keyboard of which is folded away when not in use, and unfolded to allow typewritten input.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a personal digital assistant (PDA) typically provides a writing area on the touch-sensitive screen that responds to a writing instrument. Further, a conventional external keyboard specially designed for PDAs can be attached for users who are not used to entering data with a pen-like writing instrument on the screen; they can instead use the keyboard for effective data entry. Nonetheless, the manufacturers of PDAs and external keyboards have not established a common standard to ensure compatibility between these two devices, and thus a keyboard may not always be compatible with any PDA.
A conventional portable electronic device 1, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), as shown in FIG. 1, is attached to an external keyboard 2 through a connector 3 thereof. However, it is not convenient to carry the external keyboard 2 in use.
FIG. 2 shows another portable electronic device 4 providing a sliding cover 41 and a built-in keyboard 42 exposed by downward movement of the sliding cover 41. However, the outward appearance and size of the portable electronic device are influenced, so the keys are smaller due to the volume limitation of the keyboard 42. Further, if the keyboard layout and key size are too small, operation thereof is inconvenient and impractical.